Here is a quick round-up of updates to these stories, along with new coverage of Maryland marriage equality:

JUICE #1 - GANSLER SAYS PLAN FOR REFERENDUM: The Metro Weekly today posted two articles discussing yesterday's marriage equality rally in Frederick, Maryland. The first article (excerpt below) flags Attorney General Doug Gansler's remarks about the possibility of a referendum. We previously noted that rumors are circulating that the law may avoid the ballot this November.

METRO WEEKLY: Maryland's Attorney General, Doug Gansler, joined a standing-room only crowd at a church in Frederick on Sunday to support gay marriage....

"Obviously the law that we have -- marriage between a man and a woman -- is unconstitutional. It defies the equal protection, it's against due process, and it will change...."

Pastors and elected officials are set to rally in Annapolis against same-sex marriage Monday evening, aiming to make a strong statement against the bill in advance of this week's senate hearing on the bill....

One opponent, Charles Lollar, said that if the bill passes it could "further demise morality and tear away at the fundamental framework" of the state and country," according to a statement. Lollar now chairs a political action group called the New Day Maryland which is supporting the rally. He campaigned against U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer in the Nov. 2010 election and lost.

Lawmakers scheduled to speak also include state Sen. C. Anthony Muse, a Prince George's County Democrat who is mounting a primary challenge to U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin. East Baltimore Del. Cheryl Glenn, usually a strong labor vote who'se said that this year she will break with them and oppose same-sex marriage. Also, Del. Jay Walker, of Prince George's County, will take the stage.

This is a disappointing development since Mr. Muse is currently running for the United States Senate in the Democratic Primary. How are you planning on bringing the party together when campaigning against people like this? It is not too late to do the right thing, Senator Muse. History will not be on your side on this one.

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Maryland Juice recently flagged an article in the Frederick News-Post discussing Tea Party leader Blaine Young's package of xenophobic and anti-Liberty policy proposals. We noted that a lone member of the Frederick County Board of Commissioners, David Gray, stood up to the Tea Party proposals

The Gazette now has their take on the proceedings, and it turns out the events were even more contentious than we previously reported. First, they involved comparisons of Blaine Young's proposals to Nazi Germany, and second, Maryland Juice did not realize the criticisms were being lobbed by a fellow Republican:

One longtime Frederick County commissioner is comparing another commissioner’s decision to crack down on illegal immigrants to 1940s Nazi Germany and the treatment of Jews during the Holocaust.

Commissioner David P. Gray (R) made the comparison during a discussion at a Board of County Commissioners meeting Thursday about a package of legislation targeting illegal immigrants in the county.

On Wednesday, O'Brien put his own spin on one of the most heinous arguments put forth by social and religious conservatives -- that gay people's civil rights are an affront to black people and the rights of black people. He stammered through his divisive proclamation, saying (Catholic Review):

"We are going to be strong in upholding the institution of marriage as a bond between one man and one woman, open to life...."

"So, we will do everything that we can on our own, in conjunction with other religious groups..."

"Our African-American community, I think, is very strong on this issue as we are. And I think, to some degree, they're a little concerned to call this a matter of discrimination."

"Racial discrimination is discrimination because of the pigment of the skin [rubs back of hand]. And it can't be tolerated. But marriage goes far deeper than the pigment of the skin. It goes to the very roots of our culture. And we are in it to -- for keeps...."

Maryland Juice just received the following invitation to a Frederick County marriage equality rally tonight from 5 to 6 pm. The notice comes from a new coalition of churches in Frederick. Sorry for the late notice, but I'm currently on the road:

Media Advisory

A new coalition of five downtown Frederick congregations will bring together more than 100 clergy, lay leaders, and members for a public accountability session on Sunday, January 29th, on the issue of marriage equality in Maryland.

Guests include the city’s representatives to the General Assembly: Sen. RonYoung, Del. Galen Clagett. (Del. Patrick Hogan was invited but declined). Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler will also join the event. The five congregations include All Saints Episcopal, Evangelical Reformed UCC, Grace UCC, Congregation Kol Ami, and Unity in Frederick.

Date: Sunday, January 29, 2012

Time: 5 – 6 p.m.

Place: Evangelical Reformed United Church of Christ, 15 W. Church Street, Frederick [map]

Friday, January 27, 2012

UPDATE:The Tea Party photo error below is worse than I thought! I originally only highlighted the lesbian couple on the left, but a few folks pointed out the two gay men on the right. Corrected images below:

An astute Maryland Juice reader forwarded us an amusing note about the Tea Party's rally against marriage equality. It appears that the original version of their invitation to Monday's rally included an image of a lesbian family and a gay couple. The accompanying words said "Stronger marriages." Maryland Juice agrees with that version of the flyer!

But in a later version of the document, they replaced the LGBT couples with more seemingly hetero imagery. See hilarious before and after shots below:

The Potomac Tea Party Report blog is announcing an anti-marriage equality rally this Monday in Annapolis. The post also notes that the form of the marriage bill may shift to prevent a referendum:

On Monday evening Marylanders from all political persuasions will gather in Annapolis in support of marriage between a man and a woman. Alerts have gone out from Del. Neil Parrott and from Charles Lollar at New Day Maryland to be in Lawyers Mall on Monday, January 30th from 6-8 p.m. to stand in opposition to the gay marriage lobby and its leader Governor Martin O’Malley.

Blaine Young, the elected leader of Frederick County's government has turned the Frederick County government into a taxpayer-funded Tea Party press operation. The Frederick News-Post is reporting on more embarrassing theatrics from up the I-270 corridor:

Frederick County has moved one step closer to making English its official language.

The Board of County Commissioners decided Thursday to hold a public hearing next month on the proposed ordinance. Residents will get a chance to speak on the issue before the commissioners vote....

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Maryland Juice is pleased to see that the non-partisan Maryland State Bar Association (MSBA) has come out in support of Governor Martin O'Malley's marriage equality proposal. The organization, which represents over 20,000 Maryland judges and lawyers, states the following mission on its website:

Our mission is to effectively represent Maryland's lawyers, to provide member services and to promote professionalism, diversity in the legal profession, access to justice, service to the public and respect for the rule of law.

BALTIMORE, Md. - The Board of Governors of the Maryland State Bar Association (MSBA), the state's largest legal professional organization, has voted to endorse the proposed Civil Marriage Protection Act, which, if passed into law, would grant same-sex couples the right to legally marry in Maryland. Prompted by the recommendation of the MSBA Standing Committee on Laws, the Board voted by an overwhelming majority to support Senate Bill 241, scheduled to go before the State Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee on January 31, 2012, in Annapolis.

"I could not be prouder of our endorsement of this Bill which, while protective of religious sensibilities and prerogatives, clearly and emphatically extends those civil rights embodied in our fundamental belief that 'all men are created equal' - and not simply 'all heterosexual persons are created equal' - to our entire citizenry," states Henry E. Dugan, Jr., MSBA President. "It reinforces that 'establishment of justice' referenced in the Preamble to the Constitution and proclaimed daily throughout our Country in the Pledge of Allegiance - 'With Liberty and Justice for All.'"

In addition to the Committee on Laws, the MSBA Sections of Young Lawyers, Family and Juvenile Law, Elder Law, Estates and Trusts, Immigration, and Delivery Services have also championed SB 241.

UPDATE: Maryland Juice is hearing behind the scenes that at least one of the entities listed on the door of the prayer breakfast is responding that their organization did not sponsor the event; rather individuals bought tickets with their own funds and sat together. Hmm.

This morning, Ocean City's Mayor held his annual "Prayer Breakfast," over the objections of hundreds of concerned vacationers. The Mayor's special guest, former General Jerry Boykin, is a well-documented extremist and homophobe. Though we hear the controversial speaker declined to repeat some of his more incendiary views at this morning's event -- a new problem is emerging. Even with General Boykin's muted remarks, this event still appears to be violating principles of Church & State separation.

An attendee forwarded Maryland Juice the following two photos of signs that were taped to the doors of the "Prayer Breakfast." The notices highlight the sponsors of the event, but they alarmingly list a number of governments and taxpayer-funded agencies.

Yesterday, Maryland Juice wrote about a new law that Rep. Roscoe Bartlett decided to co-sponsor. The bill requires doctors to perform ultrasounds on women seeking abortions, but it specifically leaves women the freedom to "turn eyes away." Mr. Bartlett explained his rationale for the legislation in a recent press release:

Press Release

Congressman Roscoe Bartlett Speaks at March for Life 2012 Rally
20th Consecutive Speech to Marchers

Washington, Jan 23

Congressman Roscoe Bartlett spoke at the March for Life 1012 Rally today. It was the 20th consecutive time that Congressman Bartlett addressed the marchers assembled to protest the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion. Congressman Bartlett has a 100% pro-life record. Below are Congressman Bartlett’s remarks.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Ocean City Mayor Rick Meehan and the town council can attend the breakfast if they so choose. What they cannot do, however, is pretend that their presence there won't reflect badly on them and the resort town they lead. They need to make clear whether they agree with Mr. Boykin's views, they need to do it immediately and they need to do it publicly.

Maryland Juice has yet another follow-up to the controversy over the Ocean City Mayor's "Prayer Breakfast." Hundreds and hundreds of people have emailed to ask the Mayor and City Council to distance themselves from tomorrow's event featuring former General Jerry Boykin, due to his inflammatory statements about the First Amendment, religion, President Obama, and more.

Surprise, surprise, it turns out he is also a homophobe. A Maryland Juice reader has forwarded additional video and audio footage of Mr. Boykin's views on homosexuality. Amazingly, in the video, a young person tries to challenge his logic. He doesn't budge:

This year's annual guest is truly an extremist (ie: talks about Hitler and Obama, no 1st amendment rights for all religions, was a General during the "War on Terror" and publicly called it a religious war, said W. Bush was annointed by God, etc).

In the past, I’ve written to ask for your support of my campaign. I’ve been humbled by your generosity, commitment to our State, and the support you’ve shown to Lt. Governor Brown and me, as we work every day to create jobs and expand opportunity to greater numbers of people.

Last week, Maryland Juice noted that Statehouse member Kathy Afzali was making splashes with her entry into the 6th Congressional District Republican Primary. She immediately invoked scandals involving State Senator David Brinkley and declared that incumbent Rep. Roscoe Bartlett could not win re-election. Today Ms. Afzali's competitor, anti-tax activist and former Delegate Robin Ficker declared that she was not a serious candidate:

ROBIN FICKER: Afzali filed as a Romney Delegate to the Republican Convention on 11/16 and is still listed as such on the Maryland Board of Elections website. She is not a serious candidate in Maryland 6th!

After a little bit of investigation, Maryland Juice has verified Mr. Ficker's claims: Del. Kathy Afzali will be appearing on the April Republican Primary ballot twice! She is running in the CD6 Primary for Congress and she is running in CD8 as an RNC Delegate for Mitt Romney's Presidential campaign:

Joseph Krysztoforski Wins CD6 GOP Poll? - Meanwhile, a reader informs us that the self-proclaimed Tea Party candidate in the CD6 race Joseph Krysztoforski has nearly beaten Rep. Roscoe Bartlett in an online poll on the Frederick County GOP website:

Monday, January 23, 2012

Maryland Juice was distracted with work last week and missed a few screwy political headlines. Let me try and catch you up with a quick whiz-bang through recent "news of the angry." See miscellaneous juice below. Note: these aren't my words, just my curation. Where appropriate, I'll note the writer/speaker's name in bold:

Washington Post: A Pentagon investigation in 2004 concluded that Boykin had violated “internal regulations” by giving speeches marked by fiery religious rhetoric while in his U.S. Army uniform. The controversy surfaced after videos of his speeches were picked up in the nation’s press.

In one instance, Boykin mocked a Muslim adversary in Mogadishu for believing he would be protected by Allah. “I knew that my God was bigger than his,” Boykin said. “I knew that my God was a real God and his was an idol."

Boykin described the war on terror as a battle against satan, and said that then-President George W. Bush had been installed in his position by God. Despite the controversy, Boykin remained deputy undersecretary of defense for intelligence under Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld, and retired in 2007.

JUICE #2: UPDATE on Rep. Andy Harris' Underage Booze Party: At the start of the New Year, Governor Ehrlich's former "Prince of Darkness" Joe Steffen revealed that GOP Rep. Andy Harris may have tried to sweep under the rug misconduct from his Chief of Staff Kevin Reigrut. We previously wrote about how Mr. Reigrut allegedly bought alcohol that resulted in an underage intern getting trashed and booted from her program. Baltimore's Inside Charm City blog updates on this story:

Two recent public opinion polls in Maryland indicate that an overwhelming majority of residents continue to support environmental protections in the Free State. Moreover, Marylanders appear willing to pay modest increases in certain fees to support these policies. Maryland Reporter last week wrote:

A new poll found that 62% of rural respondents favored tighter regulations on septic systems, and 57% favored “limiting the number of septic systems in rural areas....”

TODAY: From noon to 1 pm, Maryland Juice will be mirroring a live chat with Rep. John Sarbanes. The Democrat from Maryland's 3rd Congressional District is hosting a lunchtime "online discussion" about the role of corporate money in our political process. We are experimenting with ~~tech-mology~~ by embedding his chatroom on Maryland Juice.

Tune in on Maryland Juice from noon to 1 pm (EST) on Monday, January 23rd. Rep. Sarbanes' invitation to chat came with the following message:

With the rise of Super PACs, the Citizens United decision is proving to be as destructive to our democratic process as we feared. Large corporations and monied interests now have a virtually unlimited ability to buy elections.

Today Maryland Juice received news that Ocean City Mayor Rick Meehan is embarrassing the Free State with his choice of special guest at his annual "Prayer Breakfast." Last week, Ocean City's Dispatch wrote:

Ocean City Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast Director Bruce Spangler expressed excitement this week about Lieutenant General William G. “Jerry” Boykin of the US Army, retired coming to Ocean City next month.

“Talking to people that know this guy, they say he’s a soldiers-soldier … he isn’t somebody that lives from behind but is upfront leading,” Spangler said....

“He is an expert on Islamic history,” Spangler said....

The Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast will be held Jan. 26 at the Clarion Hotel....

“Our speaker for this year’s 22nd annual event is in much demand throughout the country and has been seen on all major networks, as recently as last week. He has an exciting testimony that you do not want to miss,” Spangler said.

This year the event will also last a little longer than normal giving Boykin plenty of opportunity to share his knowledge and experience with those in attendance. The event begins at 7 a.m. sharp and will end promptly at 9:15 a.m.

Before you decide whether to make the trek out to Ocean City to see Mr. Boykin speak, you can watch some of his expert testimony on Islam below:

How much will fundraising matter in the ~~now-HEATED~~ race for Maryland Governor in 2014? Yesterday, The Washington Post's John Wagner reported the following figures from the theoretical pack of gubernatorial wanna-be's:

Gansler reported nearly $4.1 million cash on hand, more than triple that of other Democrats angling to succeed Gov. Martin O’Malley (D).

Howard County Executive Ken Ulman (D) said his report would show $1.3 million in the bank, while a summary released by Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown (D) reported more than $810,000 on hand. An aide to Comptroller Peter Franchot (D), another Democrat jockeying to seek his party’s nomination, said late Wednesday night that Franchot has more than $1 million in the bank.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Maryland Juice hopes that the other 2014 Comptroller hopefuls have been busy fundraising, because we just received a press release from Delegate Heather Mizeur announcing $247,500 cash on hand. At this point, the buzz I am hearing (though not from her) is that she is looking at the 2014 Democratic nomination for Comptroller. Any other candidates who care to send in fundraising numbers can do so at david@marylandjuice.com.

For a point of comparison, this cash haul means that Ms. Mizeur has basically caught up to former Montgomery County Executive Doug Duncan (unless he reports a sudden influx of new cash in 2011). He was previously caught weighing a run himself, but will the stiff competition keep him out of the race? Take a look at the cash on hand totals from the other Comptroller's candidates at the start of last year:

Prior Fundraising Period Cash On-Hand (@ January 2011)

Doug Duncan $294,967.13

Heather Mizeur $166,424.19

Kumar Barve $18,175.87

Jim Rosapepe $8,537.84

Galen Clagett $-4,544.09

We are still waiting to see what their current reports will show -- hopefully, any day now! In the meantime, see Del. Mizeur's self-reported numbers below:

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Sorry folks! Demand Progress. To be very clear, the Internet is asking Maryland's members of Congress to vote AGAINST cloture on January 24th --- and to simply kill or indefinitely table PIPA in the U.S. Senate and SOPA in the U.S. House. Right now, Senators Pat Leahy & John Kyl are trying to "cut a deal" when it is clear that the Internet wants these bills D.O.A:

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

UPDATE:Sen. Rosapepe is also live with a website for his Comptroller's run: MarylandersForRosapepe.com. He's now emailing officials across the state to sign on to his committee of advisors. Check out the following banner from his new website:

Maryland Juice received the following emailed press release from State Senator Jim Rosapepe. We have only one question: What is an "advisor?"

PRESS RELEASE

Former Governors, County Executive, Senate and House Colleagues, and 62 Other Business, Education, and Democratic Leaders Advise Rosapepe on Possible Comptroller Race

Senator Jim Rosapepe (D–College Park) today announced a large and diverse group of Maryland leaders to advise him on a possible bid for Maryland Comptroller in 2014:

"In today's difficult economic environment, Maryland needs leadership with broad experience in public finance and private business -- and with values reflect the progressive traditions of our state. My career, in Maryland and internationally, spans the public and private sectors. And has given me experience needed to continue the fiscally prudent and socially responsible policies that has won Maryland a AAA bond rating for 51 years and the #1 ranked school system in America for the 4th year in a row," Rosapepe said.

"Therefore I'm announcing today the names of initial supporters who will advise me as I consider running for State Comptroller if my friend Peter Franchot runs for Governor in 2014."

They include:

(Titles are used for identification purposes only and do not imply any institutional role.)

Maryland Juice previously mentioned that Democrat John Delaney was launching a series of biographical radio ads in his bid for the 6th Congressional District seat. Here are the first two, due to begin airing tomorrow:

Multiple campaigns are now in full swing in Maryland's 6th Congressional District, as incumbent Rep. Roscoe Bartlett faces serious challenges in both the April Republican Primary and the November General Election. The opening salvos from many of the candidates in both parties have been downright aggressive.

Below Maryland Juice prints a quick roundup of recent activities (both positive and negative) from the campaign trail. We begin with candidates in this April's Republican Primary and end with a discussion of the race between Democrats Rob Garagiola and John Delaney.

Note: We do not highlight every candidate below, but you can see the full roster of hopefuls at Maryland Juice's U.S. House Candidate List. Make sure to read through to the end of this post, because we discuss some interesting new tactics emerging in the Democratic Primary. Without further ado, below is a splattering of CD6 juice:

6th District Republican Primary Roundup

Del. Kathy Afzali Uses Happy Marriage as Campaign Asset

JUICE #1: Delegate Kathy Afzali - I must start this roundup with a discussion of Republican lawmaker Kathy Afzali of Middletown, Maryland. She entered the race with a bang by jumping in on the eve of the filing deadline and immediately declaring that neither Rep. Roscoe Bartlett nor State Senator David Brinkley could win the General Election. The Gazette's Katherine Heerbrandt, printed the following comments from Ms. Afzali:

"I don't think they [Bartlett and Brinkley] can win against a Democratic challenger from Montgomery County. I can win...."

“Some of the candidates have personal issues that the Dems are going to use to the maximum. ... It could be an ugly and dangerous race,” Afzali said. “... Anyone running for election is going to be scrutinized. ... As for my personal life, I am pretty clean.”

Brinkley's affair with a staffer in 2008 and subsequent divorce may play a part in the election, but according to Don Murphy, a former state delegate and Brinkley's campaign chairman, that battle has been fought and won.

Monday, January 16, 2012

Maryland Reporter today features a video interview with State Senator Jamie Raskin. The segment is primarily about his position as Chair of a new ethics committee, but he also touches on a few other topics. Throughout the video below, you can hear about Raskin's new post as Majority Whip, his take on corruption in Annapolis -- and his interest in running for Attorney General in 2014 (the response on this begins around 7:00 in the video below):

ANNAPOLIS — The 300,000-member Maryland and District of Columbia AFL-CIO along with faith and civil rights organizations will hold a major rally of supporters on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day to honor Dr. King’s legacy and call for bold action to realize the civil rights leader’s vision.

Friday, January 13, 2012

Maryland Juice thinks now would be a good time for progressive legislators in the Free State to start organizing into a real caucus. In Rhode Island -- another hugely blue state -- the progressive caucus is now the largest caucus in the legislature. Look at the demographics of Maryland and ask yourself why we don't have an organized progressive caucus yet. Creating one might reveal more unity between some of the counties than people currently like to admit exists.

Centrist Democrats in the House of Delegates have decided to form a group to promote their point of view within the party and weigh in on key issues, a leading member of the group said Thursday.

Del. Mary Dulany-James, a Harford County Democrat, said the groups would probably be called the Blue Dog delegation or caucus -- named after a similarly oriented group of moderate Democrats in Congress.

Whaddya think? And while we're at it, there should be a bi-partisan civil liberties caucus. We are truly sliding on those issues nationally.

Sign Maryland Juice's petition calling for the creation of a Maryland Progressive Caucus

Last December, The Gazette reported that Montgomery County Board of Education member Laura Berthiaume would not seek a second term in office. That creates an open seat for her District 2 position on the Board. Today the fiery activists at the Parents Coalition pointed readers to the newly released list of MoCo's school board candidates in the upcoming April Primary Election. One name stands out: former Delegate Saqib Ali has thrown his hat into ring for Board of Education, District 2.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Maryland Juice was just getting excited to watch marriage equality legislation pass the Maryland House and the Senate this year. After all, just last year, the Senate passed the bill, and proponents were only a few votes short in the House. Now, Governor O'Malley is putting his full weight behind the effort, and Senate President Mike Miller is looking to pass the bill through the Senate quickly. The Washington Post even wrote an article today with the following headline: "Same-sex marriage could get early vote in Md. Senate"

So why is Senate President Mike Miller calling marriage equality "an attack on the family?"

Maryland Senate President Mike Miller (D) spoke out against Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) push for marriage equality, describing the effort as “an attack on traditional families” this morning on The Marc Steiner Show. “I don’t want to sound like one of the Republican candidates for President,” Miller joked, “but I am what I am.” Miller said he would vote against any legislation allowing gays and lesbians to marry, but promised to hold an open vote on the issue and predicted it would pass in the Senate.

They provided the following remarks from Miller to provide context for his statement:

I guess that means he really does plan on running a campaign. But will we be seeing Chuck Norris in Garrett County? (Not that it matters, because not even Chuck Norris can save Roscoe Bartlett at this point.)

I filed to run in Maryland's new 6th Congressional. With a total of 8 candidate's running in the primary I believe the other will split the RHINO/neocon vote and I will win.

I ran in Maryland's 4th district in 2008 and won with 39% of the vote in a 4 way race. 14% points ahead of the party favorite, who spent twice what I did. All this with one $2,500 mailer.

Today, a Maryland Juice source reports that Delegate Pat McDonough was with Delegate Richard Impallaria today at the State Board of Elections. Mr. Impallaria was there submitting paperwork for the 2nd Congressional District Republican Primary. The seat is currently held by Congressman Dutch Ruppersberger. Republican State Senator Nancy Jacobs has already filed for the race.

State Sen. Rob Garagiola will report raising $330,000 for his Democratic bid for Congress, a campaign official said Tuesday -- a haul that is twice as large as what Republican incumbent Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett is expected to report bringing in over the same period....

GIORDANO: Kweisi Mfume - the only African American statewide candidate to come close to defeating the white-male dominated Democratic structure, here in the state of Maryland – has shocked an entire community, as he recently endorsed the incumbent Democratic US Senator Ben Cardin; who Mfume challenged for that seat only six years prior.

In response, Giordano says Mr. Mfume provided the following explanation:

The Hagerstown Herald-Mail's Andrew Schotz has the decision many Republicans have been waiting for. This morning he reports that Maryland GOP Chair Alex Mooney is not running for Congress in the 6th Congressional District:

Former state Sen. Alex X. Mooney is not running for Maryland’s 6th District seat in Congress, even after raising more than $100,000 for a possible candidacy, he said Tuesday....

On Tuesday, Mooney said he is convinced that Bartlett, R-Md., is campaigning and fundraising seriously for another term in office.

UPDATE: Del. Kathy Afzali is not running for Congress in CD8. She is carpetbagging into CD6 to join the parade of Republicans running against Rep. Roscoe Bartlett. Our previous headline for this article was "CD8: GOP Delegate Kathy Afzali to Challenge to Rep. Chris Van Hollen for Congress?" Given this development, we have obviously changed the title to reflect the facts. Two Maryland Juice readers forwarded her email announcement this morning:

I thought I would start the New Year right by letting you know that I am running for Congress, District 6.

Now that I have gotten your attention, I will tell you why I think I am the best candidate for the job.

Over the past few weeks, two Maryland Juice sources have provided credible hints that former Montgomery County Executive Doug Duncan is currently considering a run for Comptroller in 2014. He may yet decide against joining the increasingly crowded field of competitors, but at least for now, he appears to be thinking about it.

If Mooney doesn't run, who in MDGOP leadership is going to ask for his resignation? It's one thing that former party chair Jim Pelura couldn't raise money, it's something else entirely when the current party can raise money... but not for the party.

Sunday, January 8, 2012

UPDATE: Len Lazarick (who edits Maryland Reporter) had a column in The Business Monthly last November, where he discussed how the new state legislative districts could push a number of endangered lawmakers into the Anne Arundel County Executive's race. I guess we're seeing some of that playing out now!

When Maryland announced its proposed 2014 state legislative districts, one of our sources pointed out that GOP lawmaker Don Dwyer's new District 31A was now likely to elect a Democrat. Apparently, the incumbent agrees. Yesterday, Tim Pratt at The Capital Gazette reported that Del. Dwyer has moved out of D31A and has reiterated his intention to run for the District 31 State Senate seat in 2014:

What's clear is that Del. Don Dwyer, a conservative Republican, won't run in a new, more racially diverse district centered in Glen Burnie.

Saturday, January 7, 2012

On November 7th, U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski's 2010 opponent Eric Wargotz announced he was not going to make another attempt for office in 2012. Now that State Senator Anthony Muse is challengin U.S. Senator Ben Cardin in this year's Democratic Primary, Mr. Wargotz appears to be rethinking his decision. The Baltimore Sun today reported:

Wargotz, a Republican who ran an unsuccessful campaign against Democratic Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski in 2010, said Saturday he wants to take a "second look" at running for Senate this year now that State Sen. C. Anthony Muse is in the race....

State Sen. Nancy Jacobs, R-34 Cecil/Harford, on Thursday announced her candidacy for the 2nd District seat in Congress currently held by incumbent C.A. "Dutch" Ruppersberger, a Democrat and Baltimore County resident....

Over the past few months, Jacobs said she has been meeting with citizens and business owners across the district where she says the feedback has been "overwhelmingly positive."

"I'm convinced that voters are ready for a change," she said.

The Maryland Democrats responded with the following emailed press release:

The re-election campaign of U.S. Senator Ben Cardin today circulated the following press release trumpeting the endorsement of Mr. Cardin's 2006 Democratic Primary competitor, Kweisi Mfume. To provide a little context, The Washington Post in an article today remarked, "The support of Mfume, the former head of the NAACP, is significant in part because Muse, who is African-American, has made the fact that there are no black members of the Senate a part of his campaign pitch."

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONGRESSMAN KWEISI MFUME ENDORSES SENATOR BEN CARDIN

Baltimore, MD – Former U.S. Rep. Kweisi Mfume, five-term Congressman for Maryland’s 7th district and former President/CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), has announced his support for the re-election of Ben Cardin to the U.S. Senate.

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Civil rights activist and Montgomery County community icon Roscoe Nix died Wednesday night, his daughter said. He was 90.

Nix died of aspiration pneumonia at Southern Regional Medical Center in Riverdale, Ga., where he moved in 2010, said his daughter, Susan Webster.

Nix was a political and civil rights fixture in Montgomery County for decades. He was involved in desegregating public spaces in downtown Silver Spring. He served on the county Board of Education from 1974 to 1978 and the county chapter of the NAACP from 1980 to 1990....

Some may be aware that there is an elementary school named after Roscoe Nix in Silver Spring. The school's website provides some information about their namesake, along with the following quote:

"Blessings come to people through someone else's help or through some unknown entity. Because of that, it is our obligation to use whatever it is that one of us has to help those who are less fortunate or who may be afraid to speak for themselves."

Marylanders for Marriage Equality, a grassroots group supporting equal rights for LGBT families, issued a new video (see below) to kick off 2012. The web ad features a worker's perspective on marriage equality and coincides with the announcement of serious support for the effort from labor unions (see the press release that follows the video)

The Human Rights Campaign, a national group that supports same-sex marriage, spent $380,000. That put the group at No. 7 on the list -- and they are playing an even more visible role this coming session.

The group vastly outspent an opposing advocacy organization, The National Organization for Marriage, which supports traditional marriage. NOM put $165,000 toward influencing the General Assembly.

Maryland Juice this week also received the following press release announcing a press conference today, where numerous labor unions came out in support for marriage equality:

MEDIA ADVISORY

Unions Announcing Plans to Mobilize for Marriage Equality

AFL-CIO MD/DC State Council Unanimously Approves Resolution Supporting Same-Sex Marriage, Now Gearing Up to Back Bill in Maryland’s 2012 General Assembly

UPDATE:We now have an explanation for how the Washington Post ended up printing the wrong photo of Delegate Susan Lee. It turns out Susan Lee's doppelganger is not an evil stock photo twin after all -- the WaPo ran a photo of a different (but real) Susan Lee. We received the following email from a Maryland Juice reader:

Juice,

I enjoy your blog. I wanted to let you know that the photo in the Post today is of Susan Lee, an attorney at McDermott, and former colleague of mine at Covington. She is definitely not an evil stock photo twin!

Thanks,

Holly Fechner | Covington & Burling LLP

A Maryland Juice reader sent in the following photo of a page in today's Washington Post (print edition 1/5/2012, Local Living Section). Their article about the 2012 legislative session included the following picture of Delegate Susan Lee:

Our reader has met Delegate Lee on a few occasions and pointed out that The Washington Post has replaced the REAL Susan Lee with "Stock Photo Smiling Asian Woman" (aka Delegate Lee's Evil Twin). Here's a photo of Delegate Susan Lee from the Maryland State Archives:

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Yesterday, Maryland Juice wrote about former GOP operative Joe Steffen's wild accusations against Congressman Andy Harris. He wrote a blog post claiming that the Tea Party Republican's Chief of Staff bought booze for an underage intern's goodbye party, where she got drunk and was then kicked out of the program. Steffen further alleges that Harris' Chief of Staff tried to blame the incident on another aide, whose father happened to be a Baltimore Sun columnist. Oops!

Ryan Nawrocki, a spokesman for First District Congressman Andy Harris, said Tuesday that chief of staff Kevin Reigrut was disciplined but didn't specify what action was taken. He said Reigrut remains chief of staff to the Republican lawmaker.

The O'Malley-Brown campaign team sent out an email today firing the latest shot in the Maryland vs. Virginia battle. It seems Maryland's Governor is staking a claim to creating eight times as many private sector jobs as Virginia in 2011. See an excerpt below:

Dear Juice,

Now that you've had time to celebrate the New Year, we wanted to share a quick look back at 2011 and give you an idea of what's ahead.

Last week, Governor O'Malley briefed the media on the balanced approach we've taken together over the past year to move forward.

Earlier this year, Maryland Juice printed a press release from former Montgomery County Councilmember Duchy Trachtenberg announcing that she was exploring a run for the 6th Congressional seat, currently held by Rep. Roscoe Bartlett. Last night, after sifting through info about the various races in Maryland, I started to notice that Ms. Trachtenberg has been strangely quiet lately. It turns out there was a reason.

This morning, a reader forwarded us a link to a press release on Ms. Trachtenberg's website, where she announces she is dropping out of the CD6 race. The reason is a recurrence of breast cancer:

MD Juice News Feed:

This blog predates my campaign committee and is substantially unrelated to electioneering, but just in case, you can consider certain posts "By Authority: Friends of David Moon. Chair: Marlana Valdez. Treasurer: Usman Ahmed."